Men's Basketball | Cold-shooting Kent State falls to Akron

Friday

Akron's defense proved to be a puzzle Kent State could not solve in the first regular-season matchup between the two bitter backyard rivals.

The Golden Flashes shot 33 percent from the field, went 4-of-25 from 3-point range, and never produced a single fast break point while falling 72-53 to the Zips Friday night at James. A. Rhodes Arena.

"We played poorly. I’m sure they had something to do with that. They’re a good defensive team," said KSU coach Rob Senderoff. "I’m disappointed in the way we played, but congratulations to them. They certainly deserved to win tonight."

Kent State (17-6, 6-4 Mid-American Conference) produced its lowest point total of the season and managed just five assists compared to 12 turnovers. Star senior guard Jaylin Walker missed all 10 of his 3-point attempts and wound up with a season-low 10 points on 4-of-19 shooting from the field.

Junior guard Antonio Williams led KSU with 12 points, and added five rebounds and two assists. Senior guard Jaley Avery finished with nine points and four boards.

The Zips (13-9, 5-4) traded the Flashes clank for clank until they suddenly caught fire in the second half, when they buried seven 3-pointers to pull away. Akron outscored Kent State 41-23 in the final 20 minutes behind sophomore guard Loren Cristian Jackson, a transfer from Long Beach State, who scored all of his game-high 18 points in the second half after going 0-for-5 from the floor in the opening half.

Junior guard Tyler Cheese, a junior college transfer, piled up 15 points eight rebounds and four assists, while junior forward Daniel Utomi added 14 points and five boards for the Zips.

Things kept going from bad to worse during a disastrous second half for the Flashes.

Akron took control by holding Kent State scoreless for over six minutes after a Williams pull-up jumper gave KSU a 39-37 lead with 15:12 remaining. The Flashes missed 10 straight shots, several altered by 6-10 junior center Deng Riak, and few were close to going in.

Jackson put a charge into the crowd by draining back-to-back 3s at the end of a 13-0 run that gave the Zips a 50-39 lead with 9:05 remaining.

Junior guard CJ Williamson ended Kent State's scoring drought with layup at the 8:45 mark. But senior guard Jimond Ivey answered with a 3, Cheese threw down a dunk off a turnover, and Utomi drained a 3 after Akron beat the Flashes press to build a 58-41 cushion.

The scariest moment of the night for the Flashes occurred moments later, when Avery hit a 3 then fell to the floor. He was writhing in pain in front of his bench with an apparent ankle injury when trainers rushed to his aid. Avery was eventually able to hobble back to the KSU locker room, then returned to the bench a few minutes later and wound up going back into the game briefly.

Both defenses controlled the action in the opening half, which ended with the Zips up 31-30 on the strength of a late Utomi 3-pointer. The teams combined for 16 turnovers, nine charged to the Flashes and many the result of players from both sides trying to force the issue.

Kent State led 6-2 when junior forward Philip Whittington was whistled for his second foul just over three minutes into the game. Akron broke away briefly when Ivey took the ball from Walker and scored in transition to put his team up 17-12.

Kent State countered with a 9-0 run, holding the Zips scoreless for nearly four minutes. A 3-pointer by Williamson put the Flashes on top 21-17 with just under eight minutes left in the half.

KSU was then blanked for nearly four minutes while Akron tied the contest. Neither team led by more than two in the final 7:25, and the lead changed hands several times. Utomi's 3 went through the net as the shot clock expired with six seconds left in the opening half.

The Flashes were 2-of-12 from 3, but hung tough by outrebounding the Zips 23-10 and winning the second-chance points battle 7-0.

Kent State will have five days off before returning to action on Thursday at Western Michigan (6-15, 0-8).

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